Mother, daughter fight back with an app against PMDD

  

For years, 22-year-old St Petersbrug, FL resident Brett Buchert has suffered with anxiety and depression. It started when she was in sixth grade, about the same time she started her menstrual cycle. Over time, the symptoms got worse and while in college, it got so bad she took a semester off and stayed home with her parents. "Some days I’d laugh nonstop with friends, then a few days later I’d cry inconsolably with my mom on the phone, " said Brett.

Brett and her mom Sheila Buchert
founded MevPMDD

It was during this time off from college, Brett’s mom Sheila Buchert found a local doctor who gave Brett hope again. "That fall my mom got me an appointment with a functional medicine doctor. I was wary. Within the past two years doctors had prescribed me four different types of antidepressants, and an anti-anxiety medication, all of which didn’t help me feel better and just furthered my hopelessness. However, this doctor was different. He listened to my history carefully and did not jump in with a new way to medicate me. Instead, he said 'I think it could be premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD).'”

Before they could know for sure, Brett had to track her symptoms for two months, two menstrual cycles. "We brought the excel spreadsheets and graphs back to my doctor. He said then with confidence, words that changed my life: 'Yes, you have PMDD.'”

Just what is PMDD? It affects as many as 10 million women in the U.S. and Europe alone. The symptoms of PMDD are severe and can interfere with a woman's quality of life, relationships, work, school and can even lead to suicide. According to statistics from Gia Allemand Foundation, which is the leading US organization advocating for the prevention, treatment, and research of this condition about 15% of women with PMDD will attempt suicide in her lifetime. The symptoms arise during the premenstrual phase of a woman’s cycle (sometimes 1–2 weeks before her period) and subside each month around the time her period comes. PMDD’s cyclical nature differentiates it from other mood disorders, but can also make it very hard to diagnose. About 80% of women with PMDD are not diagnosed at all, or are diagnosed with other conditions like depression and bipolar disorder. 

Brett had seen several doctors in the past and been diagnosed with major depression and generalized anxiety disorder and given medications, but nothing really worked. Being diagnosed with PMDD and receiving the right treatment has been helping. “Yes, another diagnosis to add to my list, but to me it was much more. It was the right diagnosis and the start I needed to change the way I looked at my life. Knowing that I do have a condition I will have to struggle with instills hope. I am able to be more confident,” said Brett.

There is no blood or saliva test to diagnose PMDD. The only way to diagnose it is by tracking the symptoms for at least two menstrual cycles.

After going through this manual and tedious tracking and learning more about PMDD, Brett and her mother Sheila decided they could help others, so earlier this year they developed Me v PMDD. It’s a new app and associated website to help women track symptoms, treatments and gain support.

The power of the information was clear. It not only led to Brett’s PMDD diagnosis, but also empowered her to focus on what she can control in her life. "It makes me feel good to share my experience to help other people and some people have said they are so thankful they found our website. Women helping each other. It's another step in my journey,” said Brett.

  

Me v PMDD will make symptom and treatment tracking for PMDD accessible and simple, by featuring easy-to-read symptom graphs to help women and their doctors understand and more effectively treat PMDD. The app will help replace the antiquated printable symptom tracking charts currently made available online. It will also include a Self-Love Journal for personal affirmations and reminders of coping mechanisms, as well as resources to learn more about PMDD, links to peer support, suicide/crisis hotlines, and doctors in your area who treat PMDD.

“We hope it can contribute to the changing tides surrounding women’s menstrual health and lead to better support, resources, and more effective treatment for women with PMDD," said Sheila.

“Me v PMDD puts the power of tracking into a woman’s hand,” according to Tory Eisenlohr-Moul, Ph.D., Center for Women's Mood Disorders, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “The app will help empower women to take control over their emotional, mental and physical symptoms by gaining a clear picture of their symptom patterns, receiving peer support, and learning about evidence-based treatment options.”

Since being diagnosed with PMDD, Brett says she is working with her doctor as a trial case to find an effective treatment for PMDD. “I’m so happy to say that we are onto something and my symptoms have decreased by about 70%. My PMDD went from nearly unbearable to more of just a nuisance. I owe so much of that to finally figuring out what was wrong, to finally getting a correct diagnosis," said Brett. 

Me v PMDD is being developed in coordination with the Gia Allemand Foundation for PMDD. The Buchert's have been invited to present their app at the national 2017 PMDD Annual Conference in Deerfield Beach, FL. Anyone interested on the issue is invited to attend. Go to https://giaallemandfoundation.org/conference/ for more information. The Me v PMDD app, will be available for free worldwide for iOS, Android and website users in October 2017. You can sign up early for access at www.mevpmdd.com.